The economic well-being of the elderly has been the focus of considerable public debate during the past two decades in most developed countries. The standard of living attainable by the aged differs from country to country and is determined in part by the national per capita income, government transfers to the elderly, and the propensity and ability of older persons to continue to work. The international commitment to the income support of the elderly through social security systems is noted in Chapter 8, whereas the following discussion outlines the absolute and relative economic position of older Americans through an examination of currently available data and research assessing the economic status of the aged. This analysis should be considered as illustrative of worldwide changes in the sources and patterns of income of the elderly. Although the American experience is not fully comparable to that of other nations, this examination does indicate the effects of a maturing national pension system and the decline in labor-force participation of the elderly. Of course, many problems such as inflation transcend institutional frameworks and international boundaries.

Income of the aged

The number of individuals 65 and over with incomes below the Social Security Administration's poverty level declined from 5.5 million in 1959 to 3.3 million in 1976, a reduction in the proportion of the nation's elderly below this poverty index from 35.2 to 15.0 percent. The decline in the poverty rate of the aged families was even more pronounced, falling from 27 to 8 percent during this period (U.S. Bureau of the Census Series P-60, No. 106, p. 21; also No. 107, p. 20).